LOUISVILLE (PNS) At a community reception in his honor Monday evening (November 27), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson, II, pledged that “we’re moving out of [the Presbyterian Center] because there’s a need to get out into the community to make partners so people’s lives are better.”
The reception in the Presbyterian Center atrium came some sixteen months after Nelson, former director of the church’s Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C., was the first African American to be elected to the PC(USA)’s top post. “Thanks for your sustaining prayers,” Nelson told about 150 local church, business, and political leaders. “I guess this means you actually think I may be able to do this job,” he said to sustained laughter.
In his call to community partnerships to improve the lives of Louisvillians, Nelson said, “We believe in a God who is greater than all of us, whose grace sustains us … let us be about the work of making miracle … [Read more...]

(PNS) Cleanup continues in South Dakota after an oil leak in the Keystone Pipeline earlier this month spilled more than 210,000 gallons of oil approximately three miles southeast of Amherst. The state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources says it is the largest Keystone oil spill to date in the state.
“We know the leak is incredibly dangerous and impacts peoples’ health and environment, but they are not uncommon. It happens on a fairly regular basis and is the reason a lot of Presbyterians and Americans have been concerned about oil pipelines,” said Rebecca Barnes, coordinator for the Presbyterian Hunger Program, which includes the church’s Environmental Ministry. “Our consumption of fossil fuels, oil and gas is huge in this country. We depend on lights, electricity, cellphones, computers and cars and our demand for energy continues to go up.”
Barnes says Presbyterians have a huge moral mandate to understand that the way society consumes energy is creating these … [Read more...]

(WCC) In a global campaign, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites people across the globe to extend “A Light of Peace” for the Korean Peninsula and for a world free from nuclear weapons.
On the first Sunday in Advent - 3 December - the WCC invites the global Christian fellowship to express solidarity for the Korean people and to support efforts to ease tensions and sustain hope. For more than three decades, the WCC has been engaged in facilitating and accompanying dialogue and encounter between Christians from both North and South Korea.
On the second Sunday in Advent - 10 December - one of WCC’s partners, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons - will receive the Nobel Peace Prize at an award ceremony in Oslo, Norway.
By lighting candles during special prayers and worship services two Sundays in a row, people in many nations from many faith traditions can unify and amplify voices of peace.
Promoting peace and nuclear disarmament on these occasions will … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE (PNS) — After four-and-a-half years of dedicated service to the Presbyterian Mission Agency, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer Earline Williams has embraced a new season of service with her family in Philadelphia.
“My service with the Mission Agency has come to an end,” said Williams. “I am grateful for my time in Louisville and for the people I have served alongside.”
Williams supervised the agency’s Shared Services ministry that includes financial affairs and accounting, as well as other support areas including information technology, building services, the mail/print center, the distribution center and The Hubbard Press.
Williams joined the Mission Agency in July 2013, coming from Philadelphia, where she served for over 30 years across diverse sectors of business and nonprofits.
“Earline demonstrated integrity, professionalism and grace in the time I have known her,” said David Crittenden, acting executive director of the Presbyterian … [Read more...]

Editor's note: this story has been updated as of Nov. 29.
Just for the record: This is a time of significant transition for the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
An announcement is expected soon – perhaps early December – on who the nominee will be to serve as the agency’s new executive director. David Crittenden was named acting executive director for the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) after Tony De La Rosa, the interim executive director, resigned abruptly in September.
On Nov. 27, PMA announced that Earline Williams, the agency’s deputy executive director for shared services and its chief financial officer, is leaving for “a new season of service with her family in Philadelphia.” Williams, an accountant, joined PMA in 2013, having been brought into that position by Linda Valentine, a lawyer who served as PMA’s former executive director. The announcement of Williams’ departure states that “planning is underway for temporary leadership succession until more permanent plans … [Read more...]

SHAWNEE, Okla. (RNS) — Duncan Tiemeyer chose St. Gregory’s University because he wanted a faith-based education that would teach him more than how to succeed in a career.
The 550-student Catholic liberal arts college in Oklahoma traces its roots to French monks who moved to Indian Territory in 1875, intent on developing the bodies, minds and souls of Native American and settler children.
“Here, we are taught not only to focus on our five-year plan but also our 100-year plan and our 500-year plan,” said Tiemeyer, 22, a senior business and theology major from Houston. “What are we preparing for? Are we living our lives in a way that is getting us to the next life? Are we going to be able to go to heaven?”
However, the brand of education offered by St. Gregory’s — where Benedictine monks still pray multiple times daily in a chapel beside a cemetery filled with the remains of their predecessors — will come to an abrupt halt at the fall semester’s end.
“It’s just a tragic … [Read more...]